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Q.Bond angle in NH3 is greater than in PH3. Why?

Bihar BsebBihar Board Intermediate 2021Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
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N is smaller and more electronegative than P, so bond pairs in NH3 are closer to the central atom and repel each other more, widening the H-N-H angle above the narrower H-P-H angle.

Both NH3 and PH3 are pyramidal molecules with a lone pair on the central atom. Yet the bond angle in NH3 (~107°) is larger than in PH3 (~93.5°).

Reasons:

  1. Electronegativity: Nitrogen (EN ~ 3.0) is more electronegative than phosphorus (EN ~ 2.1). In NH3, the shared bonding electron pairs lie closer to the small, highly electronegative N atom. Bringing the three bond pairs close together increases bond-pair–bond-pair repulsion, which pushes the H atoms apart and widens the H-N-H angle. …

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